Don't bring flowers
by lucierivera
Summary: Draco Malfoy promised Pansy Parkinson he would come back for her. She's having to confess their relationship to strangers and he seems to have forgotten his promises. Post-war romance fic. Not a good summary.
1. Prologue

**Post-war Harry Potter fan fiction, consisting of heavy Draco/Pansy with hints of Pansy/Other boys and Harry/Ginny. This is my first fic on this website, and I'm still trying to get the hang of it. The majority of characters in this piece belong to the brilliant J.K. Rowling and in no way am I trying to say that they are my own.**

Prologue.

"Congratulations Parkinson, I'm sure we all would have died if we followed your silly actions." A sixth year Ravenclaw snarled at her, pushing as he walked past. The students of Hogwarts that chose not to be involved with the Battle were being escorted out of the Castle and to a safer place by Filch and the prefects. Not all the prefects were co-operating, though. A sullen looking Pansy Parkinson slouched behind everyone else, dragging her feet as if they refused to take her the full journey. According to the rest of the students, offering up Potter to the Dark Lord was dishonourable and a disgrace for wizarding kind. She had never specified that the Dark Lord was to win. If anything, she secretly routed for Potter to overcome just so this horrific battle would finally be finished. Her intentions were more complicated and heartfelt, even if the actions themselves were rushed and fuelled by panic that caused a slip of the tongue. Pansy had no interest in politics or this war. She was in mutual territory, only wanting it to be resolved. Her loyalty lay with a blonde haired young man, whom was still lost in the Castle somewhere.

"Pans, hey, don't worry about what you said." A plump Millicent Bullstrode plucked Pansy out of her daydream, clasping onto her shoulder with a sweaty palmed hand in a failed attempt to comfort her. "You were scared and just" her mind wandered away from the truth, voice quavering and cutting off mid sentence. The 'D' word had been banned among the Slytherin students all year, or at least kept to a hush when Pansy was around. The poor girl grew weaker the longer he was away and everyone knew she said what she said in an attempt to save her precious Draco.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she tried to conjure up a sensible reply. All she wanted to do was to hug her friend and be promised that everything would be alright. "I need to know he's safe, Millie. I don't think I can live with myself knowing that he could be hurt, lying in a pile of rubble somewhere, or worse, be dead..." Realisation hit and she sobbed uncontrollably. Digging her heels into the mud ridden grass beneath her, she decided there and then not to move, despite the rest of the crowd trudging onwards to reach some sort of haven. Millicent was at a loss, desperately trying to get the attention of the rest of her house, hoping they would force Pansy to stop being unreasonable and to carry on.

"Pansy, Pansy please come on, you are being silly now." A large bang was heard behind them and a few people shrieked, turning to face the castle again, Pansy included. They saw a fire burst out through one of the highest towers, smashing all windows and crumbling all bricks in sight. "See?" Millicent tried to use this example to reason with her. "It's too dangerous and you are not in the mindset to play hide and seek in a battle zone right now." Nothing seemed to be getting through to her so she tried a new tactic. "You are no Gryffindor, Pansy." Millicent recoiled at her words, but continued.

Pansy stood in stunned silence for a moment or two, weighing out her options. Secretly, she pulled out her wand from the inside pocket of her robe and held it out towards Millicent. "I'm sorry I have to do this. You don't understand." She took a deep breath then shouted, "Petrificus Totalus!" Immediately Pansy started to run towards the castle, knowing too well that her spell would've caused attention and there was the potential for someone to chase after her. It didn't take her long before the castle was in full view, and her eyes couldn't focus because of all the spells darting around. She crouched down to ground level and slowly made her way towards the main courtyard, trying to work out some sort of plan. The only way forwards was to make a run for it. If she could get in through the main door, perhaps who she was looking for would be in the Great Hall, or searching for Potter himself. After taking a deep breath, she lunged herself upwards and darted straight through the middle of a duel, managing not to get hurt.

All the chaos and commotion was a blur to her as she focused on the door, casting a few defence spells when curses started to rebound in her direction. Adrenaline kept her moving at an incredible pace. Inches away from the door, she stumbled and tripped on some debris that had fallen in front of her. The force and shock of it all caused her to hit the floor with an almighty crash, instantly knocking her out of consciousness.

The young, slytherin girl lay among the dirt as the battle raged on. Hopeless and unable to move, it seemed as though there was no chance of her getting out alive.

Soon, a mysterious stranger noticed the girl, scooped her up into his arms, and carried her off into the distance.


	2. Chapter 1

The early morning brought scenery full of clichés. Birds chirped, the sun shone brightly, and everything seemed peaceful and serene. Pansy Parkinson chose to ignore the morning bliss and instead pulled her bed sheets over her head in an attempt to block it out. This denial of the fresh day had become a regular occurrence over the past two months, for she preferred to be asleep, and in sleep she didn't have to think of all the terrible things that had happened. Apparently today she wasn't allowed to sit and sulk in solitude. All that remained from the horrific incident two months ago was a small, crescent shaped scar on her forehead.

"Good morning Miss Pansy!" Libby her house elf squeaked as she pushed open the door, effortlessly carrying a tray in the palm of her hand. The elf wore a sparkling silver pinafore, as Pansy wanted to set her free on several occasions, but even with clothes granted to her, she decided against leaving her home. That brave faithfulness reminded Pansy to at least sit up once she entered the room.

"What am I doing today then, Libby?" She asked politely with a clear lack of interest. Her focus was on the china cup now held carefully in her hand as she drank the lavender scented liquid. "Please tell me it's nothing major today."

Libby shifted away from her brown eyed stare. Clearly she was being extra sweet to soften the blow of what she was about to reveal. "Miss Pansy, do you not remember the letter from the Ministry you received three weeks ago?" Pansy nodded and watched her frantically start to pick clothes out of her wardrobe. "Your inquiry starts this morning at eleven." Holding up a pair of respectable heels, Libby turned to face her with a pained expression, desperate for her to take the news well.

Pansy's chest felt tight and she quickly disposed of the cup in her hand to wipe away a few stray tears falling down her cheeks. "Oh." Today was time to face the music over what she did at the Battle of Hogwarts, but more importantly, they wanted to talk to her about her associations with Draco during school. The new naive staff at the Ministry of Magic thought that keeping profiles of known Death Eaters would be useful, despite them having no obligations anymore. Draco especially. Not that she had seen him since her sixth year. The 'D' word had been permanently banned in the Parkinson residence, just like it had been at school, yet now she was supposed to stand up in front of strangers and talk about the only person she truly loved.

Without another word, she slipped out of bed and into her en suite bathroom. To hide for a few minutes, she used a charm to lock the door and sat fully clothed in an empty bath with her knees tucked up to her chest. She sat sobbing in silence until her mother called to summon her.

Tired and dreading her day, Pansy used magic to lazily help her dress properly and prepare to go downstairs. The only thing she took the time to do was her hair, twisting it up into a neat bun and using a very special emerald hair pin to keep it neat. On her descent down the staircase, Libby frantically polished her shoes and shined the slytherin crest she wore on the left hand side of her jacket. As soon as her worried parents laid their eyes on her, she was ready to leave.

"You look beautiful, Pans." Her mother Cecelia commented, as though sending her daughter off to an extravagant party or even her own wedding. She remained in her seat with clasped hands with visibly tearful eyes. Victor Parkinson leaned against the nearest wall in silence for a while, waiting until Pansy said good bye to her mother and Libby before escorting her outside to have a quiet word.

"You are being really brave for doing this today, petal." He flinched, realising the condescending undertones of his words. It was not his intention to patronise his daughter on a difficult day for her. "I need you to do something for us though." Pansy's curious head tilt was the simple 'go ahead' that he needed to explain properly. "Your mother and I have been talking about the future, your future to be exact." Together they walked across their front porch and across the path towards the large gates. "We know that you loved _that boy_, and we're still going to give you some space, but you have to forget him and move on." A reaction from Pansy was missed and that shocked him. She was a classy, respective girl and that meant hiding emotions, even from her own parents.

"Would that be all?" Pansy choked on her words, swallowing the bile that had risen into her mouth. She felt sick and dizzy in every sense and wanted to scream at her father that Draco promised to come back for her, but she didn't.

"Make sure you don't lie to protect him today, petal." He gave her a friendly smile which she obviously did not return. If anything, she was positively scowling by now. "Nothing is going to happen if you tell the truth. I'm guessing you haven't told us the whole story and I'd never use legilimens on my own daughter." A chuckle escaped his lips for a second or two. "You know your arrangements?"

"Yes. I'll see you later." She said hastily and disapparated on the spot.

She arrived in a backstreet near the visitor's entrance with ease and got inside without any fuss. The Ministry of Magic was unknown territory for her, and for a short while she stood in the main entrance, staring in awe at the vast space around her. Suddenly, a person walking into her jolted her out of the daydreaming and caused her to fall back a little.

"Merlin! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." A guy in front of her scanned for any damage, and the unusual attentiveness startled her a little. "Are you alright?" He used his hand to comb away the long, brown hair in front of his eyes, and that caused Pansy to stare closer at his face.

"Yeah, fine." She brushed over the subject immediately. "Do I know you?" Her mind wandered through all the people she ever met to try and match up his face. Squinting, she pictured him wearing dress robes, rather than a school uniform, and that's when it hit her. "You took Fleur Delacour to the Yule Ball!" She exclaimed, having a typical female view on her recognition. That enthusiasm made him laugh, and her cheeks flushed in her own silly girl behaviour.

"That's correct." He didn't seem too offended because he offered a hand to her. "Roger Davies, I was a Ravenclaw two years above you, Miss Parkinson." An expression of sheer horror was soon pasted across his rather round face. "Please don't think I'm a stalker, your face was just pretty memorable, and that's all." They were both embarrassed and that made the conversation far less awkward. He offered to escort her to the court room, explaining how he was an intern in the Sports department, but really wanted to be a professional Quidditch player. Despite the fact that she had no desire to talk to anyone, even Pansy had to admit that he was pleasant to be around, and certainly a fresh change from her morose thoughts.

He never asked her anything about Draco and hopefully hadn't heard about her faux pas on the most memorable day in their lifetime, so that made her relax. Time flew by and before she knew it, they were stood outside the room in which Pansy was required to be in. "Thank you for walking me here, these corridors are far more twisted and complicated than I first expected." She wanted to thank him for the company, yet she knew her guard needed to remain up at all times to stop her from cracking and breaking down like she did back at her house.

Shrugging his shoulders, he started to plan his departure. "It's no problem; it's the least I can do for walking into you." He twisted his feet around before plucking an adventurous idea out of his head, and stopped to tell his acquaintance the plan. "I'm guessing you'll be done at 1 o'clock for lunch, would you care to join me for something to eat?"

It seemed a little forward, and in normal circumstances she would've politely declined in an instant. But Pansy was lonely, and it appeared that her loneliness would be permanent if she didn't do anything about it. "I'd love to." Quite childishly, his smile grew to an un-natural size as he vowed to meet her in the spot they were then. He wished her good luck and left her.

Feeling her heart beat in her ears, she took a deep breath and pushed open the large, black door, leading to what she had been dreading for so long.


	3. Chapter 2

Inside the court room itself, Pansy felt more nervous than before. The air was so cold she could almost see her breath as she exhaled, but she felt lucky for choosing to wear her thick trimmed suit rather than the silk one. People were sparsely sat across wooden benches, all with their heads pressed up into pieces of parchment or Daily Prophets, none really interested in the situation. One man had an unfortunate crooked nose that dominated their entire face. Pansy laughed and quickly covered her mouth when people eventually noticed her.

"Ahh, our next vi-," a shrill woman spoke up and quickly corrected herself, "interviewee. Please, come and sit down." From her high seat, she gestured to a small chair in the centre of the room. Graciously, Pansy nodded her head and carefully walked across the monochrome tiled floors, trying to keep her eyes on walking, feeling as though she'd fall at any moment. Timidly, she leaned back into the chair and smoothed down her skirt before taking a proper look at the scene in front of her. The woman looked as though she hadn't checked her reflection in a mirror since she was a teenager. Her grey ended curled hair covered a lot of her face, was wispy and visibly brittle. She wore no make-up, wore a bland suit, and had yellow teeth. Definitely showing up the Ministry. Pansy wondered what ditch they had pulled her out from and stopped thinking like that, trying not to behave like a stereotypical scrutinising Slytherin.

"Can you confirm that you are," The woman raised a pair of glasses to her eyes and read the parchment in front of her, "Pansy Victoria Parkinson of Thistle Park, daughter of Victor and Cecelia and seventh year Hogwarts student?"

Pansy simply nodded her head in return. Apparently that was not good enough. Quickly she said "Yes, that's who I am." Next to this woman was a fierce looking man with a flat cap and a shiny badge. A security guard. To her left was a young woman, no older than thirty, watching over a quick-quotes quill that documented every single word of this meeting.

"Right you are then." This woman gave Pansy an unnerving smile, yet her intention was to be friendly, not to startle her. "My name is Odette Childe; feel free to call me Odette. I don't suppose you understand the true extent of this interview?" Although she understood perfectly well, Pansy shook her head to co-operate. Odette seemed practically elated. "Right then! Well, as you know, the ministry needs to get a full report of what happened in the lead up to the Battle of Hogwarts for the vaults and records, you know the procedure I'm sure." her voice soon lacked in that original sparkle, "This also includes profiles on existing ex-followers of the Dark Lord and supporters from the better side."

Trying not to show her offence from her statement, Pansy gritted her lower teeth under the top set, waiting for her to reach some sort of point to her rambling.

Odette continued, "We've already had a few of your fellow students in your position. A Miss Ginevra Weasley was the last person under questioning. We are not accusing you, Miss Parkinson, of anything. However your associations could be quite useful to our research." Oh great. The Weasellette had been there, probably reeling off countless events in which Saint Potter behaved like some superior being. Anything she said now would be dark and weak in comparison. That notion stuck in the back of her mind.

Suddenly, Potter and Weasley were the least of her problems. Odette held out her wand towards Pansy while staring intensively without blinking at all. Confused, Pansy returned this focused glare and widened her eyes as she said clearly, "Legilimens" and entered Pansy's most private thoughts.

She was seconds away from drifting off to sleep when she noticed his eyes slowly opening. All day she had been sat there, hoping for some movements, and now that he awoke the day had started to reach its end. Frantically she grabbed his hand again and tried to wait calmly for him to recognise her, or at least sense her presence. Those distinguished grey eyes were filled with sadness as their gazes met, and just like so many times before, she was captivated by him.

"Blasted Potter, I swear I'll hit him with a hex so hard he'll only wake up next Sunday." Pansy tried to lighten the mood with her quite joking, yet completely serious words. Draco had been hit by an unknown curse in a bathroom fight, and although the explanation was spared to keep the hysterical girl calm, she noticed the blood stains on his shirt and figured out the rest for herself. Instead of speaking, Draco carefully manoeuvred her hand back to her lap and pulled down the bed covers. He gestured for her to get in with him. They had barely seen each other for the majority of the school year, so physical contact was practically non-existent. She delicately kicked off her shoes and slid onto the mattress with him, careful not to touch his chest in case she worsened his injuries. He winced for even though she tried to avoid it, she still pressed against him slightly; being in such a confined, space free expanse. In the attempt to comfort and re-familiarize herself with him, she caressed his golden hair with the tips of her fingers, like she did in every single affectionate moment they shared.

"Each time I have ended up in here you've sat by my side, no matter what. And this time, you are still here. I've constantly ignored you, I've made you miserable. How is that possible? You should hate me right now, I wouldn't be surprised. Hating has always been one of your strongest qualities. You never fail to startle me, Miss Parkinson." His voice was soft and vulnerable, reducing her to tears in an instance. This disbelief of her loyalty, devastating rather than humbling, seemed to be the first of many confessions.

"I know Draco, I know." She whispered to him, tracing her free index finger down from his wrist and directly across the deadly mark spoiling his perfect skin. Unable to hide her built up her emotions, she started to shiver at an uncontrollable rate. Soon, the roles were reversed as he began consoling her. "I knew from the moment we sat together on the train. You were paranoid about the sleeve of your jacket and kept pulling it down. Not to mention the way you spoke so cryptically about not needing school next year. I don't miss a trick." The room fell silent and that gave them both time to think. She remembered watching him grow weaker everyday and how he shut her down whenever she attempted to get involved. He thought about needing to share the truth.

"I've been working on a task all year given to me by the Dark Lord as a punishment for the actions of my father. It's been difficult but I've had no choice, he said he'd kill me if..." Not all the truth would be well received with her. She rudely interrupted with a weak sigh of pity and desperation, unable to grasp the idea of living in a world where he no longer existed. It wasn't worth thinking about.

"It all ends tonight, Pans." He kept talking, thinking that if he didn't get it all out at once, he'd forget what to say and decide to run away with her to a better place. "My job will be complete and I will have to leave the Castle immediately because of it. Please know that I excluded you to keep you safe, to protect you." He didn't seem at all sure of himself, when usually his confidence radiated from him no matter what. This caused her to panic and tremble even further.

"I'll stay with you. I know you were protecting me and I'll be eternally grateful, but you mean more to me than anything else in the world and it wouldn't be right for me to stand by and leave you on your own." The only way to stop her scared speaking was with a kiss.

Gentle and soft, it united them fully for just a moment it made both their fears dissolve. All that mattered was that kiss, their lips touching. Once over, he wiped away her tears with the back of his hand and looked straight into her eyes and said without hesitation. "I love you, Pans." Those three special words had never been uttered from his mouth before. Sure, she had slipped the out a few times during their late night snogging sessions, but he had not reciprocated this thought in anyway. For the first time in her life, Pansy had been stunned into silence.

He held her in a loving embrace, blocking out all the troubles, feeling her heartbeat soothe him. The task at hand became a fragment of his imagination, a bad dream that his girl coaxed him out from. She pulled away not wishing to tamper with his healing process. Everything came rushing back and he jolted upwards, ignoring the burning tinges sending out signals from his closed wounds. "Pansy, you have to do something for me, and there can be no exceptions." She sat patiently waiting for her instructions. "I can't have you be with me tonight." Before she had chance to argue, he kissed her again. "You have to go back to the common room immediately and stay there no matter what. Wait until your teachers say it is safe for you to come out again. If anything dangerous happens, you fight. You are a slytherin; I have no doubt that you won't be able to handle anything that you are confronted with." His signature smirk started to appear, and then soon faded. "You fight. You survive. You do that and I promise that when this mess is all over, I'll come and get you. I'm afraid you'll have to hold the fort for a little while longer."

"No! No!" Pansy screamed in anger. Her head was throbbing and sore, her red eyes puffy with tears. Sparks flew from her wand, directed straight at this monster that invaded her thoughts. "How dare you! How dare you read that memory of mine?" She stood from the chair and gave Odette her most menacing stare with no impact in return.

"Please, calm down Miss Parkinson. It is a well known fact that slytherins are usually skilled in occlumency, but you do not possess this quality." Her father had meant to teach her that very summer. The security guard held out his own wand in preparation for a duel. Odette told him to put it down, not wishing to scare her or put her off. It was too late for that. "Besides, nothing I did was illegal. We had permission from your parents beforehand to use any means necessary to get our information."

That knowledge tipped Pansy over the edge. "I'm done here!" She exclaimed, blinded by fury and the pain from having to recall her most precious, painful memory. The worst of it was that a complete stranger now knew about her most intimate moment. Odette Childe tried to reason with her, but trying to reason with Pansy Parkinson once she had her mind set on something was like extracting blood from a stone. Pointless. In true style, she stormed out of the room, not focusing on anything in particular, trying to hold back more tears. To be betrayed by her parents made her feel even more isolated and alone. At a loss of what to do, she started to walk around the Ministry. She took the nearest elevator and directed it towards the Sports department. Lunch would have to be early today.


	4. Chapter 3

The sports department of the Ministry was more like a high budget joke shop than a serious sector of the Wizarding government. As Pansy walked through the winding, open corridors, quaffles were thrown between staff members, stones used in a game of gobstones were piled up in the corner and she heard a game of exploding snap take place from behind a locked door. Sadly, the serious work took place in the region she needed to be in. Behind one desk sat the person she searched for. Roger was checking different snitches and their flying abilities before scribbling down whether they worked. If they did, he packed them up into cardboard boxes and passed them across to another man in the same position of work.

"Hi." She spoke softly, hoping to capture his attention without raising her voice too high. Her vocal chords hurt from all her crying and her throat was dry from that same emotional outburst. He immediately tilted his head towards her. She gave him the most pleasant smile she could manage. "Are you able to get off a little early? I don't fancy staying around in this place. I'd like to leave now."

"Pansy, I don't know whether I-" Staring at her a little more, he noticed the red rings under her eyes and figured that a strong girl like herself wouldn't co-operate and negotiate as easily as anyone else. "Yeah, of course." He made a few excuses and cover up stories with the boy working next to him, before they departed together. He anxiously tried to ask her what happened a few times with no avail. Together they left the ministry, and he offered to take her to a small wizarding pub close by, for she was unfamiliar with the area. He didn't sell the place too well. "It's not that great, really. It's just close." She watched his shoulders hunch up.

"Is there a problem?" Her eyebrows curved upwards in curiosity. He shook it off; she refused to let it lie. Hair wafted into her face in the breeze so she pushed it away not to break focus. "Tell me please."

"It's not exactly a problem of such, but," he guided her down a cobbled street when she started to trail off in another direction, "you seem like a classy sorta girl." There was a pause and she desperately tried not to laugh. "I don't want to be taking you to some average place, you might not fit in." The only response she could fathom was a playful pat on the arm. He eased against her gentle touch until she moved away. Confidence restored, he opened the door to the pub and held it for her. Pansy bowed graciously and stepped inside. True to his words, it wasn't a lavish, spectacular place. It held a certain charm. The scent of fresh bread wafted through the air and her mouth started to water.

"I really like it here." Pansy smiled.

They sat down and chatted. He convinced her to try the soup and they shared food preferences mid meal. She forgot about all her troubles for a while, amused by how he finished the rest of her meal once she was far too full for it. Onlookers would've believed it to be a date. A knot in Pansy's stomach warned her that Roger thought they were on a date as well. The bill arrived and for a moment she slipped back into her old habits. Staring down at it with doe eyes, she twirled her hair around her finger. Usually, the face tricks dazzled people into paying the entire sum of money. "Here, let me-" she reached into her bag to take out some money, which was quickly refused by him. Surely she wasn't so wrapped up in her own world she had signed up for a date and not even realised it?

"So," they started travelling back in the direction they had come from when Roger spoke up, "how come you dragged me away from work early, eh? Problems with your inquiry?" Already she felt the tears build up in her eyes. Guilty for her selfish acts, she knew that an explanation would at least settle him. His concern was very sweet.

"Well," she started pulling at the tips of her hair, "they used legilimens to test out whether I had been trained in occlumency. It was all legitimate because my parents had agreed to it beforehand." He gave her a look of sheer disbelief, secretly urging her to continue. "The person interviewing me managed to uncover my most treasured memory. I was so shocked that I couldn't block her out until she'd witnessed the entire event." Walking down the steps and back inside, he stopped her for a second and pulled her aside so that she could regain her composure. "What should I do? I suppose it's against the law if I don't go back. I just can't face that woman again..." Embarrassed by her own weakness, she hid her head in her hands.

He didn't say much for a while, possibly mulling it over. Then he thought of something. "Go back in there, show them whose boss. Let them ask a few more questions. If they step out of line, you walk out and file a complaint and don't go back. And then you come and find me and I'll escort you home."

It seemed like a pretty fair deal, so she agreed to it. Soon enough she was sitting in the same court room as before, far quieter than usual. Odette Childe was far more surprised than Pansy at her return. Apparently, no one had walked out yet, so she expected her to be the first and for her to stay out. "Right, right, very well then." Papers flew about everywhere, showing her lack of organisation. Finally she found the piece she was looking for. A list of questions, nonetheless. Cautious of her leaving again, Odette didn't even bother asking Pansy whether it was okay to start. "When did you start associating yourself with Mr Draco Malfoy?"

What did this have to do anything? She thought with a puzzled frown. "Erm, back in our first year." She would be compliant for as long as she wasn't too invasive.

"Right you are." The same quill from before wrote down every single word they spoke. "Did he ever mention his family?" Pansy opened her mouth to reply but she wasn't finished just yet. "And their associations?" This silly woman started to make Pansy's blood boil.

"Of course not." She tried to hide the sarcasm in her voice. "We were just young kids. I mean, he bragged about how rich he was and how he had the best parents in the world. Same old, same old." She still remembered the moment they first met. He was still sulking over being rejected by Potter as the first years were brought into the Slytherin common room for the first time. Bravely, she told him that Potter wasn't worth his trouble, and he agreed. According to eleven year old Draco, 'Potter would pay' for his rude actions and bad choice of friendship. They shook hands then wiped away germs on their robes. After the initial chit chat, they properly introduced themselves. Both names were ridiculous to the other, so they became Malfoy and Parkinson to avoid humiliation. He told her that she wasn't too bad for a girl and she replied with a snide remark about how he was a girl. Something clicked instantly. The ability to mock and hate without even thinking about it was shared between them.

"Miss Parkinson? Miss Parkinson?" Pansy became unresponsive after unintentionally drifting off into her own subconscious. "Am I alright to proceed with questioning?"

Pansy immediately nodded. "Yes. Go ahead."


	5. Chapter 4

Author's note: Thank you to all who have read and those who have reviewed so far. I have ideas as to where to take this fic, but I'm not sure whether they are substantial enough or not. Still, this is my favourite entry so far. Hope you all enjoy!

The night began to come to a close but Pansy still had some unfinished  
>self grooming to attend to. Spending the entire day in a court room left her feeling tense and in need of some pampering. The interviewing had run smoothly after the little debacle. Odette Childe seemed more fascinated in the intricate details and code of conduct of the Slytherin house rather than Draco. Pansy certainly didn't mind. In fact, she felt so pleased that she agreed to meet Roger for dinner the next evening under the condition that it wasn't actually a date.<p>

She mulled over the events of the day while immersed in bath water. Her  
>parents had left the house to attend a charity ball, but gave Libby clear instructions to prepare dinner for Pansy and draw her bath. She even included the rose scented potion that Pansy liked. She closed her eyes and stretched out her legs as far as they would go. Muscles relaxed to show their delight in her action. Just as her eyelids began to droop, a voice was heard that jolted Pansy out of her resting state.<p>

"Pansy... Pansy... Pansy I need you..." it was unrecognisable to her, but still very audible. Startled, she sloshed about in the water, dazed by how someone appeared to be speaking out to her without being present in the room. She heard the mysterious voice utter its last words. "Pansy save me, I need you to come back." Something about the voice made her eyelids close as though she was being calmed in some way, if only for a second. Making a grab for the towel on the floor next to her, she pulled herself out of the water and draped the fabric around herself. She twirled around, defenceless, secretly hoping that someone in particular would be standing behind her, giving her that message. The thought of that gave her an idea that almost made her slip over her feet in shock.

"Libby! Libby you come in here this instance." She called out to her house elf as she re-entered her bedroom. Almost immediately, the creature was at her feet and waiting patiently for some sort of instruction or explanation.

First on her agenda was the dithering Pansy. She hadn't bothered to dry herself properly and was pacing up and down her floor in a demented manner, muttering under her breath. "Miss Pansy!" Libby squeaked in worry. "Must you wander around like that? You will catch a cold." With a flick of her wrist Libby managed to shut the windows. That didn't help much.

Pansy's bottom lip quavered when she responded and goose bumps were visible on her skin amid the water droplets. "Someone spoke to me just then. I think I know who it was." She started to comb through the knots in her hair with her fingers. Her thoughts drifted back to the odd spiritual moment in the bath tub. "I definitely wasn't dreaming about it." Libby didn't seem too convinced and that distressed Pansy even more. "Ugh!" She screamed. She threw her towel down on the floor in annoyance and started to pull on clothes left out for the next day, not right now. Soon after her little strop she was wearing a pink sweater and a pair of dark blue corduroy trousers.

Libby disapproved. "Miss Pansy," she spoke with a stern voice like she did when Pansy misbehaved as a small child, "you are supposed to dress in your pyjamas, eat your dinner and then stay in your room. Just like your parents ordered!" She stretched to appear taller, not being used to taking the superior role. Pansy usually did what she was told. "Miss Pansy, stop tying your shoelaces and listen to me!" Libby bellowed. Instantly Pansy moved her hands away from the boots she leaned over. She never liked being yelled at. This time made her cry. The small elf shuffled towards the crying girl and placed its hand on her knee so that she didn't have to reach upwards to comfort her. "Please don't cry Miss Pansy." A tissue appeared from her pinafore which was used up straight away.

"Can you apparate inside protected locations?" From behind masses of hair Pansy spoke. "As in, places such as Thistle Park? We have protections so that strangers can't just get inside. But you can defy that, right?"

Libby started to back away towards the door. Warning lights in her head flashed, telling her to calm down the deranged looking Pansy so that she wouldn't cause any harm. Regretfully, she nodded to her question, not wanting to inconvenience her if she had a plan.

Pansy gulped as if preparing to stand up in front of a large crowd and talk. Except she had an anxious house elf rather than a large crowd. "I need to get to Malfoy Manor tonight." she played with her hair again, pulling it to one side before twisting it into shape around her fingers. "I think that it was Draco calling out to me subconsciously, or through some sort of magic. I-" she needed a few seconds to collect herself. It took a lot of courage on her behalf to say this. "I'm being traditional no longer. I'm not going to sit around waiting for him to drop out of the sky and miraculously save the day. Not anymore." she sprung to her feet and stared down at Libby. "You can either stay here and make up a cover story, or help me." If she refused, Pansy would be lost, an upper class girl wandering around late at night trying to fight against powerful magic.

Her ultimatum wasn't exactly hard for Libby to think about. She knew her duty and bowed before her to signal the agreement to help. "Miss Pansy, I'll escort you to the Manor under one condition." A childish eye roll from Pansy followed. "I'm not to leave your side at any moment, I have to protect you. I know you trust these people but you don't know what kind of security and danger could be lurking." She held out her left hand. Pansy crouched to meet it with hers, not having a plan of what to do once they arrived. They both vanished with a simple whoosh.

"Ouch!" Pansy yelled in pain as she fell straight into a pile of sharp twigs and brambles. With cuts on her hands, she sat up on her knees to survey the scene. Nothing bled so she couldn't really complain. Libby stood with her back to Pansy, staring at a rusty iron gate that was left slightly ajar. "Something the matter?" She asked the elf as she stood, feeling a little out of place. Even in the dark she saw overgrown hedges and untamed flowers, allowed to grow wild and dominate the entire area. Squinting, she tried to picture the place bright and immaculate. That helped. They were definitely at the Manor. It was just a more untidy Manor than Pansy remembered from her visits years before.

Finally tearing her eyes away from the gate, Libby replied, "No, Miss Pansy. There is nothing the matter." They started to tip-toe down the main path, Pansy a little ahead. As soon as the Manor was in full view, light was visibly coming out into the darkness via the open door. People were also blocking this light.

"Let go of me!" Pansy protested once yanked into a small crevice where the bushes finished. "I can see them Libby, let go of me!" Clearly the elf knew better than to let the girl run off towards the front door. The firm grip on Pansy's left arm soon softened and it morphed into a comforting pat on the arm instead. Still she resisted, but not as harshly as before. Pansy noted that the view from her spot was at least a good one, so she wouldn't miss out on anything.

"Miss Pansy, there are more than three persons in the doorway." She spoke in a whisper to prevent any attention being brought to them. They stared intensively at the scenario in front of them, sussing out the visitors to the Malfoy home. Pansy knew far too well that they weren't the type of people to allow others to drop by unannounced. "Is that-"Libby recognised a face in the reflected light and checked again before saying who she thought it was. "Is that Miss Daphne Greengrass?" Daphne had holidayed with the Parkinson's on many occasions, so had met Libby plenty times. All up until the two girls had a horrific fight, shared a few nasty words, and ended up falling out and into utter silence.

That suggestion was quickly dismissed with a weary head shake. Until Pansy took a closer look. She noticed the resemblance. "There are two big reasons in distinguishing between Daphne and her little sister Astoria." Pansy gulped; satisfied that she put that as delicately as possible. "And that is certainly Astoria, not Daphne." Her chest felt tight but she didn't have time to think over anything, especially her own agony. "She's with her parents." The blonde, beaming girl and her family were exchanging the usual handshakes and conversations with the apparent hosts. Pansy only saw one thing worth remembering.

From her hiding place, Pansy watched a dishevelled looking Draco lean in to politely kiss Astoria on the cheek. Boldly, or stupidly in Pansy's opinion, she lifted her head up towards him so that his lips were pressed against her skin and stayed there. Pansy waited for him to look repulsed, make her go away or pretend to enjoy it. He didn't pull away for a while though. Even worse, he gave her a smile, the brightest smile a broody boy like Draco Malfoy could fathom. While the parents made chit chat, (Pansy made up a conversation between Narcissa and Brittany in her head, Brittany Greengrass playing the over-complimentary type), Draco and Astoria shared the same grin for quite a while. He then placed a delicate hand on the top of her arm before escorting her into the house. Everyone followed the pair. "Take me home." Pansy ordered through her tears. "Please, take me home."

"I hate him! I hate him! I'm never having anything to do with him again!" Pansy screamed at the top of her lungs, flinging items across her room in a blind fury from what she saw. She was so angry that magic didn't help her destroy anything for once. Libby stood in the corner with hands clasped over her ears to protect them from the screaming that never ceased. Now, Pansy was set on getting rid of a few items permanently. She scooped up some pieces of parchment, a selection of moving photographs and her special emerald hair pin. These were set out on her balcony and left for a few seconds.

"Miss Pansy, I know you are hurting, but you don't know the full story!" Libby crept up behind her in the hope she wouldn't start yelling in a closer proximity. "At least save the hair clip. You could put it in your vault until you feel better?" Despite her best attempts to come up with a solution, Pansy ignored everything said.

She pulled her wand from her pocket and aimed it at the pile of paraphernalia. "Incendio." She ordered, watching the fire spurt out and cover everything she wished to burn. The little emerald hair pin started to melt away because of the intense heat.

"_Come here and turn around, I need to fix something." He said with a mischievous smirk that grew once she ran over. _

_"We're going to be late for the ball!" She said crossly, already a little red from all her running around. "What is it?" He didn't give her the satisfaction of explaining. Instead, he caressed her hair with his fingers, tucking some behind her ear. "Draco, I'm getting impatient now. What are you doing?" He plucked out a little something from his pocket and slid it into her hair from the left hand side. She immediately felt it, running her hands over the jewels._

"_Now we can go." She turned back to face him when he spoke and flung her arms around his neck to show how she felt about his present. The little, emerald encrusted hair pin glittered in her hair. _


	6. Chapter 5

Destroying all her precious possessions certainly helped Pansy recover, even if it was only going to be temporary. She threw out her hair straightening potion to allow it to set in natural waves, didn't apply as much make up the next morning and planned to be a lot nicer to people. Still, she made that promise before running into Ginny Weasley in Diagon Alley. She lied to her mother that she needed a dress for her date that evening in order to be given the family vault key for Gringotts. Once she collected some money, she bought some writing utensils – a new quill and some fresh parchment, so she could write a letter to Daphne, to ask her if she knew anything about the night before. That was when her perfect day became spoiled by the Weasley girl. She must've spotted Pansy walking down towards her favourite cafe, for she shouted to her as she caught up.

"Pansy Parkinson!" She exclaimed, a little out of breath, finally close to the girl. She wore a crimson sweater that surprisingly didn't clash with her tied up red hair. Pansy knew better than to stay and talk to the girl. If her feet hadn't betrayed her, she'd have gone straight away. An excuse wouldn't have been needed, either. She'd have just left.

"Yes?" She didn't seem too keen, standing rigidly with crossed arms as the girl continued to fight for her breath. Something must've been important for Ginny to chase her so that she became unfit. Pansy had a bad feeling she knew what she wanted.

"I've just been at the ministry, the inquiry, y'know?" Of course she knew. "Anyway, they asked me to come and find you. Apparently you haven't answered your owl about coming back." Her voice went quite high at the end, like she was practically full of joy over talking about it or performing an errand. Then again, she was probably being praised and encouraged every single time she went.

"I don't think I've got that owl." Alas, Pansy lied. The letter lay open and forgotten on her bedside cabinet. "You should tell them that the next time you go." She forged a smile that slid back off her face in a matter of seconds. So much for being the nice girl.

"It's really fun, isn't it? These inquiries, I mean. Getting to tell all sorts of great stories and what not." Ginny just didn't know where to stop. Of course, she recognised the look of despair on Pansy's face and the genuine sadness in her eyes when she shook her head. "Oh right, I understand it's not quite the same experience for you." She fell into apologetic silence but Pansy refused to let it lie.

"Obviously it's fun for you!" She snapped. She had a short temper, so got more offended than usual. "Look at me; I'm Ginny Weasley, girlfriend of Saint Potter. Here, have another story about how fabulous he is and how he saved the universe so he can be with me." Despite her best attempts, including some I've-just-sucked-a-lemon facial expressions and a whiny pitch of voice, Ginny didn't crack. "Not everyone got something good out of this whole War experience, y'know. There's no need to rub it in. The last time I saw you, you were defending your little boyfriend after I basically offered him up as bait. Go away please. I don't wish to speak to you." She turned her head away to signify her dramatic statement.

A gentle hand on her arm made her turn back again. Ginny had a soft smile on her face. "Neither Harry or I blame you for what you did, Pansy. Although I don't appreciate your harsh words, I'll let it slide. " She quickly moved her arm back when Pansy had the look of horror in her eyes. Time for a subject change, seemingly harmless. She wanted to behave like a typical girl so that Pansy wouldn't shout again. "How are things with you and er, Draco?" She stuttered for she plucked up the courage to care.

Pansy wished to rip out her tear ducts when the tears started to fill up again. "I wouldn't know, it's been a while since I saw him. Now if you don't mind, please don't speak to me anymore. Or repeat this conversation to anyone." Her mother would've scowled if she knew Pansy was being so rude, but she turned on her heels and sped towards Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour shop with her bag of goods in hand. Obliviate seemed like a good option right now. Still, she kept on moving, stopping once inside.

"Pansy Parkinson, how good to see you." A polite young waiter bowed his head to her. She recognised the face and so returned the gesture. He sat her at a small table at the back and she ordered a large chocolate sundae to keep her content. While she waited for her treat to arrive, she took out the parchment and quill and began writing a letter to Daphne.

_Dear Daphne,_

_I'm hoping that you are well at the moment and that everything with the engagement is going according to plan. While I understand our friendship took a turn for the worse last year, I desperately need your help. I would not be reaching out to you like this if I wasn't incredibly sorry for what I said. But more importantly, you may be able to assist me in figuring out something dreadful that has happened to me. Last evening I went to visit Draco at the Manor for the first time since school. I didn't even make the front door because I was stopped in my tracks in shock. Stood at their front door were your lovely parents and your younger sister._

_Now I know you do not owe me anything, but I was hoping that you could find out why they went to visit the Malfoy's last night. Astoria seemed very keen to be close to Draco and as you can imagine, it upset me greatly. I have theories as to why they were there but I can't bear to think of them properly until I have a few more details. If you could get in touch soon I would be forever in your debt._

_Thank you,_

_Wishing you well, _

_Pansy Parkinson._

Pansy ate her dessert while simultaneously reading over her work. A smug smile appeared on her lips, for she managed to keep it short and simple, excluding words she yearned to include such as 'slut' and 'bitch' to describe Astoria. Being unable to finish the entire sundae made her feel a little guilty because the waiter she liked took the time to make it, so she left a decent tip before departing from the shop.

She arrived to a home empty from other humans. This gave her enough time to scavenge through her wardrobe. Eventually she found a cotton blue dress still with the label on, so that she could convince her mother that's what she bought on her trip. Something inside her warmed when she started to dress and put her make up on for her date. She missed the feeling of looking her best for the pleasure of others. Her special lipstick became fitting, so she brought it out of the back of her bathroom cabinet. Looking in the mirror brought a smile to her face for only a second. Nit picking was a bad habit she caught from her mother. Too pale. Far too skinny. The dress looked cheap and her make-up did too.

"Pansy, your date is here!" Her mother called up and startled her out of her negativity cloud. Time flew by when you were scrutinising yourself and her parents came home without her noticing. In respectful heels and a shawl hanging on her arm, she descended down the stairs in no time. Although her parents were trying to remain out of sight, they both stood by Roger Davies with impeccable grins on their faces.

"I'll see you later then, guys." She nodded to her parents in a 'please back off' way but they didn't seem to get the hint. Luckily, Roger noticed how uncomfortable she was and took her arm before her mother could find the camera.

"She'll be back home in one piece later on." A chorus of laughter filled the hallway. "Not too late, of course." Roger said, looking towards Victor. Pansy guessed that her father had the rules to date my daughter talk beforehand. Still, he hadn't ran a mile and not looked back. She felt comforted by that.

Only when they were seated at the restaurant twenty minutes later did Pansy explain the weird, happy behaviour of her parents. "Listen, I'm sorry about my parents." She said while scanning her eyes around the place. The chic interior and lack of riff raff certainly suited her taste, the menu supplied lots of choices for her as well. "I guess they're a little overprotective." She shrugged her shoulders, trying to keep herself from saying 'I've been completely miserable for months and they're just looking out for me.'

He ripped apart some bread out of their shared bucket, took a mouthful and replied as it was swallowed. "Don't worry about it Pansy. Parents are parents; they're always going to be wary of mysterious strangers." He wiggled his eyebrows playfully to make her laugh. He certainly did, and that was the best thing about him.

"Thanks for understanding." Not needing to explain anything allowed her to relax. The butter beer in her blood system aided that, too. She ordered a light pasta dish, while he settled for some big lump of meat with various accompaniments. Conversation remained relatively shallow for quite a while. They talked about the general Wizarding world, weather patterns and simple hopes for the future. If someone came in and asked Pansy to recall the details of their conversation, she wouldn't be able to pin point a single thing. That soon changed.

"Have you ever been in love, Pansy?" his question was more curious than harmful and prying. "I know I certainly have." He stared dreamily, probably hearing violins in his head.

Pansy couldn't help but giggle at his facial expression. "Don't tell me, Fleur Delacour?" She teased. "People who are half veela certainly don't count." She explicitly remembered feeling annoyed when she was at the school, all the boys had stars instead of eyes and yearned for her. Whether she dated Roger or not, Pansy hoped to find out.

He burst into laughter and Pansy got the answer she needed. "No, no. She asked me to the ball and I was completely star struck. We exchanged home addresses yet never exchanged a single owl." He wasn't upset about it, so Pansy felt fine for bringing it up. "Lisa Turpin." He still spoke so fondly of her. "We dated for quite a while, but it was just one of those things when we broke up." There was a pause for them to both polish off their meals. "Hey, you never answered the question."

She gripped hold of her fork for a while until she clumsily dropped it with a large clang. "Erm, nope. Never been in love." Nonchalant was her safety appearance. _Yes. _She desperately wanted to say. _I still am, hopelessly so. _"I'm no sceptic about it though; I guess it'll happen when it does." He let her words wash over him, not speaking until he called the waiter over and paid the bill.

When she stretched out an arm to put on her coat, he helped her with it. This is how it should've been. "Thank you." She said politely and linked arms as they left the building. A sinking sense of guilt filled her stomach for she knew she didn't want it to be him putting her coat on for her. The night air felt pretty bracing even with her multiple layers of clothing, so they walked quickly before disapparating together.

"I'm glad I bumped into you at the Ministry, Pansy. Even if I'm still sorry about that." Roger spoke as they sauntered down the path of Thistle Park, towards the front door. Pansy could see what was coming, but didn't know how to avoid it. "I don't suppose you'll want to go out again? Maybe after one of your inquiries?" Yikes. Maybe he counted their unplanned lunch as a date, too. He was working his way onto his third now and she'd only agreed to one out of politeness.

"Of course, that'd be lovely." That was no lie. She certainly enjoyed the company and liked to get out of the house for a while. He was quite handsome, too. By now he had got her to the front door but she didn't seem comfortable enough to just leave. Mind reading would be a good skill to have right now.

"Great." He smiled. She didn't return it. He lifted an arm to brush away the hair from her face. It was all becoming a slow motion movie scene that she couldn't stop. "You are really pretty Pansy." The hand that brushed her hair now held her chin, tilting her head towards him. Her free hand searched for the key in her pocket. He angled his head to the side and started to lean in for a kiss.

"No!" She bellowed, pushing him back with all the strength in her upper arms. "I can't do this." She plunged her key into the lock, twisted it and disappeared into her house.


	7. Chapter 6

"You have got to be kidding me." Pansy sighed in exasperation and rubbed her temples as her head throbbed. She looked from Odette Childe to a fresh copy of the Daily Prophet sat closed on the bench beside her. Today was a Thursday, two days since her atrocious exit from her date with Roger. "You honestly think that?" She couldn't quite believe what had spewed from the woman's mouth. In fact, she repeated it aloud herself just to process the words. "You say that Draco Malfoy wanted to become a death eater to take revenge on the Games Keeper because he got attacked by a hippogriff in his third year?" She shook her head violently to prevent unwanted laughter. "That's a joke, right?"

Odette reddened in embarrassment. "No," she straightened the collar of her jacket, "That's not what I was saying. I was insinuating the possibility. After all, that hippogriff was sentenced to death after that _incident." _Pansy remembered the day perfectly, so certainly didn't need any recap from her. "Could it be possible though, Miss Parkinson? You refused to answer the question directly."

Basically, they were running out of leads and ways to connect Draco's earlier life to his alliances. Pansy knew the truth; they were just too stupid to ask the proper questions. "Definitely not." She knew that aggravated her by how she ruffled through the papers in front of her. She crossed her right leg over the left, waiting for Odette to respond. "Is there anything else you need from me today?"

"Yes." Odette spoke sharply, in a don't-you-dare-think-about-moving way. Pansy recoiled a little, a small grumble escaping her lips. "What did you do, Miss Parkinson, after said event?" The magical quill sat perched against a piece of parchment, ready for the words to fall out of Pansy's lips.

As with the majority of questions asked at the inquiry, Pansy couldn't understand the relevance. "I stayed in the Hospital Wing of school, watching over my injured friend." She didn't see the point in saying anything further.

"Witnesses reported you screaming and shouting at them beforehand." Odette stated, feeling better for having more information at hand.

"Well, of course I screamed. I was scared for the safety of someone I cared about a great deal." She played with her hands, comfortable but relatively bored. "As for the shouting," that she remembered better. Frightened and insecure were emotions she chose to discard from her memory, but evil behaviour towards others wasn't erased. "People weren't hiding the fact they were pleased about his injuries. I felt repulsed. I also had a duty to defend the honour of other people in my house." Her new strategy was to keep away from the romantic side of their relationship, until it was properly addressed.

"Very well then." Odette replied dismally, before she was given a message via whisper from the security guard seated to her left. "Miss Parkinson, I'm afraid we've ran out of time." The light returned to Pansy's eyes. She crept forward in her chair and waited for the direct release. Odette noticed and said quickly, "You may leave."

She darted out of the room without a second thought. Glad to be trouble free for the rest of her day, Pansy didn't even grumble when Ginny Weasley appeared in front of her. Still, it was to be expected. "Ginny." Acknowledging her was the politest thing to do. When the redhead smiled in return, Pansy felt anger brew deep within her. Ginny was a catalyst to Pansy's built up anger surfacing. "I'll be leaving now."

Either the girl had forgotten Pansy's warning of her not speaking to her again, or she chose to ignore it. Pansy settled on the latter. "How was your inquiry today, Pansy?" The brunette shrugged her shoulders, purposefully being arrogant and lazy in her response. "I take it you still don't wish to talk to me then." Ginny stood still, evidently having not a single chip on her shoulder. Perhaps growing up with lots of boys taught Ginny to keep strong.

In some ways, that thought made Pansy a little guilty. She opened her mouth to respond properly but quickly became unfocused. From the corner of her eye, she noticed a glimpse of white walk down a corridor ahead of them. "I have to go, Ginny." She said mid pushing past her, gaze directed to the spot where she saw something peculiar. In muggle terms, she became Alice following the White Rabbit.

She pushed past a few Ministry workers, skidded on a small puddle then chased the blonde hair down a horizontal corridor. Shouting out seemed a little too farfetched. Then why was she running so manically in the first place? Everything started to become a blur. He entered the closest lift but she was too late to get in with him. She screamed in fury and leapt into another before it closed. Straight afterwards, it became apparent that she didn't know what floor to go to. Distraught, she pushed her way to the back of the elevator and tried to catch her breath.

Everyone started to get off on designated floors. Pansy stuck with the majority of the crowd and got off on the main floor and entrance/exit of the Ministry. She sprinted through the masses of people flooding in and out, trying to find somewhere to go. That's when she spotted the hair again. "Draco!" She shouted, convinced it was him. How many people had that signature colour? Not many. "Excuse me, excuse me!" The people clustered around her, making it more difficult to weave through them.

Said man eventually lined up to the floo, ready to leave. Pansy was mere inches away. If it was him, she could grab onto him and sort it all out. If it wasn't, well, she was screwed.

He stepped in the flames. She reached out and took hold of the sleeve of his jacket. Seconds later, Pansy and the man were spiralling out of the flames and towards his destination. Even with distorted faces and warped bodies, she could tell instantly that he wasn't the boy she had been hoping for. He lifted out an arm, swung, and then hit her straight in the jaw. Clearly he was going somewhere that he didn't want a stranger to see. She couldn't function in the gravity-less space, so had to take the punch. And the next one. Her mind still worked fine. She thought about home just as he extended his arms to strangle her. Another struggle took place, including a harsh squeeze to her throat, before Pansy dropped down on the porch of her house. Splinched.

The lower half of her left leg did not find its way home. She lifted her head an inch to inspect the damage, and saw nothing below her knee other than blood spilling out of the open wound. When she tried to put her head back down, she smacked it against the concrete beneath her, leaving her even dizzier and disorientated. She opened her mouth to form a scream but from where the man tried to choke her, her throat was bruised and vocal chords unresponsive.

Blood still poured out, travelling down the steps. She tried to move but only managed to cover her other leg with the scarlet liquid. Breathing felt easy to do, so she focused on that for a while. Her surroundings became a pain fuelled blur, ringing took place in her ears. Sharp sensations shot up from her mangled leg and into her torso. It was like a thousand burning needles were jabbed in at the same time, shooting up and down her body. Flop sweat burst out of her and a wave of nausea hit her. She knew that keeping awake would help her, that she would get through it. Still the torment raged on. Essence of Dittany was kept in the bathroom cabinet, which would certainly help. She tried to push herself up onto her elbows but crumbled under her own weight and fell again.

She then had a moment of clarity. Through the pain, she seemed to lose the will to carry on. Why should she try and get up? What would that achieve? If she died there and then on her front porch, all the misery would be over. Nobody was home so she wouldn't be found until after it was over. Surely blood loss would be the culprit if she managed to receive the sanctity of death. Soreness on the exterior physically brought out the aches and pains deep within her heart. He wasn't coming back for her. Living seemed useless. She closed her eyes, quickly losing consciousness.


	8. Chapter 7

"Is she going to be alright?" A voice broke the silence in the crowded room so everyone moved their heads towards his direction. "Will she wake up from this?" Some of the less confident people in the room wept into their tissues, others waited cleverly for the Healers to respond. The question had played on everyone's mind at one point, only one brave enough to open their mouth to ask it. Despite enduring a seriously painful leg re-attachment, Pansy Parkinson was yet to wake up from falling unconscious on her front porch a week before. Any passer by would've guessed her to be asleep, not lost in a coma. Cecelia Parkinson brushed her daughter's hair and cleaned her up every day so that she'd remain decent looking in her state.

"She should wake up sometime." The first Healer was brave enough to speak, an auburn haired thirty year old woman holding a clipboard in both hands. "When that will be is unknown. It's best to wait, preferably in a room full of _less _people." Clearly the woman was trying to get crowd to disperse. Already the room temperature had risen, not well for the sick patient. Eventually people started to leave, mumbling a few things, mostly "that poor girl" and so on to keep up the sympathetic momentum.

Still beside her bed sat a highly patient and highly worried Roger Davis. He watched the girl breathing softly for a few seconds, smiling to see genuine peace on her unconscious face. Inside, he was full of woe. A girl he liked a lot got herself hurt and he didn't know why, so he couldn't help. That thought made him feel worse, so he moved his eyes to the bedside cabinet full of sympathy cards, starting to inspect them. Keeping his focus on something would help ease the trouble. He read a few heartfelt messages from Pansy's relatives, wondered how long the box of chocolates would last before they got out of date, and then noticed a peculiar looking letter beside a vase of carnations from Millicent Bullstrode. This letter was a rolled up piece of parchment, quite like a scroll, tied with a red ribbon.

Something inside Roger told him that it was important to open it. He looked at the door, then at the sleeping Pansy, and carefully pulled at the ribbon until it unravelled. He held up the parchment to face level and read away.

_Dear Pansy,_

_I received your owl in junction with another from your parents, explaining your injury. I hope that everything gets better! As soon as Blaise and I return from Paris, I will come and visit you immediately. You gave me an awful fright._

_As for Astoria, I'm afraid I have some awful news. It turns out that my sister has been courted by Draco for a few weeks now, and the night you appeared at the Manor was the first family meeting. My mother refused to give me a reason for this silly mistake, but I will find it out for you. This angers me almost as much as you getting hurt. I can't believe it! Please, Pansy, I promise to sort this out for you as soon as possible._

_All the way through school I believed that you were meant to be together and I shall never forget that. I would write more, but you may not read this before I am at your bedside – telling all the nurses to assist you rather than other people!_

_All my love,_

_Daphne. Xxx_

Roger rewrapped the letter and put it back where he found it. All the confusion as to why Pansy was so upset disintegrated, leaving only guilt fused with understanding as a residue inside of him. He tried to kiss a girl broken hearted over someone she still loved. She had been going through something far beyond his intelligence and never picked up on it. Furious, he rose to his feet and clumsily trudged through the remains of coats and belongings of other people, tripping into a tray of Pansy's medication, almost knocking it everywhere.

"What... what's going on? H-hello? Oww my throat hurts..." The previously slumbering girl awoke from his noisy incident, rubbing her eyes to try and open them properly. She couldn't quite lift her head, but managed to see who was with her. "Roger." She said with the biggest smile she could make, uncomfortable in the sunken pillows. She lifted a shaky arm, trying to reach out to him, signalling that she needed help. He rushed back over in frenzy, knowing what she wanted. Using magic and the empty plastic cup beside her, water appeared and soon he lifted her head to tilt the liquid into her mouth. "That's better." She said as a half hearted apology for she could speak with less dryness in her mouth preventing her from it. "How long have I been here?"

Roger didn't notice that he had taken her hand in shock but soon gently placed it down back on the bed. "A week, Pansy. You've been asleep a week." He let out a shaky sigh. "Do you need me to go and get someone? Is there any pain?" She shook her head in response and he sat back in his chair, resuming position. She figured that the remainder of ache in her leg would be natural after what she went through. More importantly, a leg was there. "I read your post, Pansy." He seemed very ashamed, bowing his head to her in an apology. "It was a letter; I had to check whether it was of any importance because it looked so peculiar."

Her jaw hardened a little, but that was the only anger she had. She remained oblivious as to what he read, so allowed him to continue speaking without interruption. "Please answer me a few questions. You don't have to speak, just nod or shake your head, if that isn't too much trouble." Although he cared greatly for her recovery there were just some things eating away inside of him that had to be explained. "True or not, you're in love with Draco Malfoy?" Pansy nodded her head. "True or not, you tried to hurt yourself to get his attention?" She shook her head, relief sank in again.

He felt horrendously bad again once she started to cry, tears rolling down her cheeks and into the mouth that struggled to catch her breath. Whispering soothing words, he gently propped up the pillow behind her, before lifting her head up so that she wouldn't choke on her breath. "I thought I saw him at my inquiry, not many people have really white hair so young, and I followed him. I followed him all the way to the Floo Network but it was a stranger and he hurt me and I got Splinched." Pain travelled down into her stomach in a quick, sharp motion, causing her to keel forwards with her hands covering the area.

She kicked her legs, practically throwing a tantrum like she did as a small child. "Why didn't I die on my porch? Why did somebody come and find me?" She yelled, now attracting attention from the hospital staff, which all started to appear in the windows. She kicked and she kicked some more. She kicked until the faint wound in her leg started to bleed out again. Roger didn't know what to do. He knew she couldn't hurt herself too much, and guessed she didn't want to cause a scene. He darted across the room, closed the blinds on the windows and shut the door before returning to the mess that was Pansy.

Without her permission (he figured she probably wouldn't be able to form a reply anyway) he pulled back the bed covers and slid in next to her. When she wailed even more through her tears, he wrapped his arms carefully around her shoulders and just let her pour out all her anger on him.

They remained in that position until Pansy finally cried her last tear, sniffing through the aftershocks of her explosive outburst. "Are you alright?" He eventually whispered, inspecting the wound on her leg that left a stain, no permanent damage.

"Are you going to leave?" He shook his head, so she partially smiled and rested her head back on his chest. "Good." Pansy didn't want to disturb their intimate position, but she couldn't help but wonder what he had read. "Who was the letter from? Did it say anything interesting?" She still had her eyes closed for he gently stroked her hair, almost making her fall asleep after her long rest. He picked it up and reread aloud for her and she couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness for Daphne remained a loyal friend no matter what went on between them.

Time became unimportant to the pair as they lay in total bliss for a while, avoiding all issues both had in their minds. Pansy wondered why Roger read her mail in the first place. Roger wanted to know more about the problems in Pansy's former relationship. When the Healers eventually arrived, the surprise on their faces was not hidden that Pansy was awake and perfectly fine. Roger left to call in Pansy's parents, a task he should've done as soon as she woke, while a final check over examination took place on the girl.

"So can I go home yet?" Pansy asked, keeping hidden her little disastrous 'moment of weakness' as she would call it out of the conversation. Both Healers didn't see a problem with this, so they fully explained her medication to her before leaving the room to sort out her departure. She played with her hair in the absence of company, thinking over what she said and what she did. She turned to her bedside cabinet, read a few of the cards and sneaked out a chocolate from their packaging.

Her parents and their siblings soon stumbled back into the room, holding her hands, brushing her hair, smiling and telling her that she was very brave. Their kind words became white noise so she continued to thank without really knowing what was being said to her. She desperately missed the non-patronising comfort of Roger, his scent still lingering on her skin and in her hair. Even though she was a girl used to getting what she wanted, Pansy didn't expect to be out of St Mungo's as quickly as she was. The Healers came back pretty soon with her medication, giving a few instructions as to if she had to come back and when her follow up appointment would be.

She returned to her warm home before the day became dark, welcomed with a hot bubble bath from Libby which she sadly needed help to climb into. Libby then aided her into her pyjamas and despite being fit enough to do it, she brushed her hair. Being treated like a sick patient made Pansy a little more depressed. She decided to take action, excusing her house elf before getting to work with a few different things.

She then sent a thank you letter to Roger explaining how she truly appreciated everything that he did for her and that she wished to go on another date with him as soon as possible. The house of Parkinson had two owls, so once the first left she set to work on a reply to Daphne, saying that there was no need for her to rush home because Pansy was well, and would feel the guilt of her trip being spoilt if she did. Dinner was brought up and she ate with a healthy appetite that had been forgotten long before she got hurt. She started to unpack her gifts from the Hospital, liking her new flowers on the windowsill and the cards next to her bed. She was a little tired after all the work she did so went for a nap.

Her nap turned into full sleep lasting the entire night. She dreamt about simple things but it was the first dream she'd had in a long time.


	9. Chapter 8

Author's note: I just wanted to thank people for the continued support; including those who are new to subscribing and those who keep reviewing that really keeps me going. Also, this chapter is a good few weeks ahead of the last one because I figured that not much would've happened during the time of Pansy's recovery.

"Are you sure this looks alright? I feel a tad fat." Pansy remarked to her guest who was lounging on her bed in a very nice grey suit as she twirled in the silk emerald dress in her full length mirror. She brushed the ends of her hair with her hand, pulling out the curls a little to make them far softer. Dressing up like this had made her even more insecure, despite her practically glowing skin and time consuming make up on her face. She smoothed down the dress again, still trying to get used to her slightly fully figure that came from constant dining escapades with her new beau. "Are you even listening to me?" She folded her arms impatiently, turning to face the boy trying to fasten his tie on her bed.

He wasn't listening to her in the slightest. Very much amused, she crawled across the bed and started to redo is tie for him, a little confused that he couldn't do it himself despite having to wear one for school. Part of him saw that puzzlement in her eyes. "I can tie a tie very well, Miss Parkinson. I just can't do it very well and for posh events like this." He patted the tie down once she finished, helping her back to her feet because she wore three inch silver heels. "You certainly do not look fat, Pansy." He went to place a kiss in the crook of her neck and she leaned her head back in response, but instead he slid some silver out of his pocket and around her neck.

She inspected the necklace in detail in the mirror; it had a small sapphire heart hanging down from the chain. Undeniably beautiful. "It's stunning, Roger." Pansy said with such sincerity, trying to hide the biggest of grins on her face. "You didn't have to get me a present, though." Now those kinds of words weren't usually the ones to fall out of the lips of such a spoilt, rich teenager. But the time spent with her boyfriend made her feel much happier, so she became quite the better person in return. Of course, she still sniggered at ugly people in the street and behaved like she was better than anyone else. The secret compassion inside her, wasted away from her moping started to shine through. They shared a quick embrace before departing with present in hand, ready to attend the engagement party of Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass.

They arrived at the venue a little less confident than during their previous interlude, knowing too well that this was the first time they were in front of other people as a couple. Hand in hand, they walked up the carpeted staircase and into the party venue. Pansy walked ahead, taking no time to stare at the chandeliers or the pictures on the wall, but started to look for her friend. Roger loosened his collar, gulping, with the extensiveness of it all knocking him down a little. "Yikes." Out of place wasn't the phrase for his emotions, it didn't do justice to the fright he now felt. The room was larger than any he'd ever been in, including the Great Hall at Hogwarts. People were spread out in designated areas, the dance floor, the buffet tables, a few seated areas and around the hosting couple. If he looked in the mirror he would've been two feet tall.

"Daphne!" Pansy screeched in excitement, throwing her arms around the girl as she made her way towards her. She hugged tightly, careful not to catch her bracelet in her honey coloured hair when she retracted. Pride consumed her, she was so happy that her childhood best friend was actually growing up and getting married to a man she loved. "You look stunning. You will look stunning" said Pansy. She could already feel the tears of joy brew in her eyes. Looking over her friend she was dazzled with her black lace gown.

Daphne, unusually shy for such a boisterous girl, stared into the full champagne glass in her hand. The faint smile on her lips was ominous rather than radiant. It was as though Pansy put a dampener on her happy, happy occasion. "I have something to tell you, Pansy." She took a deep breath preparing to share the grave news she had learned about. "You aren't going to like it, but you have to take it." Pansy put a hand on her friends shoulder, trying to gain eye contact with her.

"Daph, I came here for you. This is a night dedicated to you." She looked behind Daphne and shrugged when she saw Blaise. "Well, he may not know it's all about you. Anyway, please don't worry about me or feel that you have anything to say about me. Think about you and you only." When her friend nodded at her slightly misguided advice, Pansy felt a sense of satisfaction that she managed to say something right. They toasted once Pansy had a drink in hand, downing both glasses of champagne in a minute or two, so had at least two refills. This left the pair a little lightheaded, so Daphne greeted the rest of her guests clutching to the brunette, giggling together and having a good time.

After tasting a few canapés, Pansy began sobering up and went on a hunt to find her date. She found him deep in conversation with a cousin of the groom to be, discussing different Quidditch teams, something that Pansy could never understand. "Hi. Can I borrow you for a minute, please?" He lingered a little and she couldn't really get annoyed. "Sorry for abandoning you" apologised Pansy once she had his full attention again. She nuzzled into his shoulder, not noticing that the direction they were headed ended up with the middle of the dance floor.

A small band was located at the back of the large entertainment hall and just on cue, they started to play a nice, slow song. Roger pulled away from his date to hold an inviting hand out to her. "Care to dance?" He gave her his best sultry expression, trying to woo her a little.

Bashfully, Pansy started to giggle a little with red cheeks. "Sure, why not." She took his hand and walked towards him, resting her head on his shoulder. She decided not to pay any attention to the other couples moving more skilfully around them, for she liked the slow and steady pace of their minimal movements. In that moment, her leaning against his neck as he guided her around the floor, she didn't feel any sadness. It lasted for thirty seconds at the most, but that moment of bliss, where the white noise left and the darkness inside disappeared, she felt a weight lifted from her shoulders.

They praised the band with applause as soon as the song ended. He couldn't help but return to his prior conversation and Pansy had a few Pureblood socialites to catch up with, some of them clearly gloating that Pansy came with someone other than Draco Malfoy. One girl in particular asked if he was still single, before throwing in a compliment about the new boy she was dating. The sister of this girl sniggered at the conversation, speaking up to call Roger common and unfit to be around such purity.

Even though Pansy was furious she didn't retaliate. Instead, she gave the girl an unsatisfactory fake smile before excusing herself to find him again. She waited for the girls gazes to wander in her direction. "What are you doing?" asked a puzzled Roger as she traced her fingers down the sides of his face. She leant forward and his eyes closed almost instinctively. They, at least, seemed to know what to do when the rest of him didn't quite understand. Her lips found his a moment later. He tasted like peppermint, she tried to keep it soft and tender but her hands started to wander around his back, pressing against his shoulder blades. She pulled back, remembering to breathe again, once he bit down hard on her bottom lip.

"I'm guessing you don't need an explanation for that?" Pansy teased with a wiggle of her eyebrows. Sharing a laugh, they excused themselves and left before the midnight hour fell. He took her home like the gentlemen he was. They kissed twice again on the porch before she forced herself inside, buzzing with the sensation that she did something a little risqué in public and actually enjoyed it.

She went to sleep having a peaceful dream. Little did she know that the next day would change her already cluttered life for good.


	10. Chapter 9

"Good morning." A half awake Pansy murmured politely to her parents as she took her seat at the dining table, rubbing her eyes as she awaited to be served breakfast. Naturally her parents didn't bother to look up from their separate early morning editions of the Daily Prophet but they both grumbled an audible "Morning Pansy" in response. She ate her toast when it arrived in the usual silence, drank her apple juice and went back upstairs to dress. She knew that she should've worried more that her parents ignored her a significant amount more than they interacted with her, but she struggled to care.

Smiling profusely at the outfit already picked out for her, a retro style baby pink dress with a sheer cardigan and black pumps to match, Pansy started to get ready. By eleven o'clock she was completely ready with nothing to do. Her boyfriend had to work; her best friend would undoubtedly be hung-over from the night before. (Pansy was blessed with the gift of not getting a headache after drinking.) She perused the family library for a while, hoping to kill some time, but found no interest in any of the books she picked up and felt a little too hot staying in the stuffy room.

"Why don't you go and try to find a job, Miss Pansy?" asked Libby as she stared down at the dreadfully bored girl who had taken to the sofa, lounging about with both arms hanging down. "Even if it's only temporary, it would at least give you something to do." The house elf squeaked, returning to dusting the various ornaments on the fireplace.

She didn't respond for a while, thinking over what Libby had said. Suddenly she stood up. "You'd better stop cleaning that, Libby." The house elf stepped away in response. "I'm not going to go and find a job." Libby's shoulders fell a little for she felt disappointed in herself. "I'm going to do some shopping for a while, suss out the good places I could work." She would probably do nothing other than shopping instead but when Libby stepped back seemingly satisfied with her suggestion, Pansy decided not to tell her the truth.

Libby offered to escort her out of the house so that she could disapparate, but Pansy needed to collect a few things first so did it alone. When she arrived in Diagon Alley, it was no surprise that it was crammed full of people. A lot of these people were those she recognised from her school year and the year below, presumably having nothing else to do quite like herself. Effortlessly, she managed to glide through the crowds of people to get into different shops.

She went into Flourish & Blotts, passing a stand of textbooks to arrive at the books for general interest. Checking through a selection of romance novels for witches, Pansy realised that she had read and reread all of those books, so left that shop pretty quickly. Next door was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. She had been in there on many occasions, to get her school uniform, her formal robes for the Yule Ball, and whenever her mother treated her to a new dress for her birthday. A mauve robe wearing woman looked up from her copy of Witch Weekly at the customer, smiling pleasantly at the face she recognised. "Pansy Parkinson," Madam Malkin pushed up her glasses when she spoke, "how nice to see you again." Pansy bowed her head as a response, spotting a new collection which she would certainly browse very soon. "We just have a customer being fit, so feel free to look around in the meantime." That was the signal she was waiting for. Walking, not running, Pansy started to make her way towards the newest of all the displays in store. She ran a finger over the fabric of a floor length lilac gown, returning to it once she finished looking through everything else. Just as she picked it off the hanger in preparation to try on, a voice was heard that bellowed across the peaceful shop. "Merlin's beard!" The voice, Pansy knew it was female, shouted as she came out of the dressing room. Said girl dropped all of her shopping bags and it was no clumsy incident, she was genuinely in shock. Pansy turned to see the girl and felt sick immediately, recognising her. Astoria Greengrass stood before her. She looked fat, ugly and common, Pansy thought. Except she was the most radiantly beautiful girl Pansy had ever seen, her big blue doe eyes working perfectly against her flowing blonde hair. She was skinnier than Pansy, but not too skinny that it made her look ill. She wore a lovely floral blouse and skirt, accessorising perfectly with various jewels that looked outstandingly expensive. Pansy had spent so long analysing the other girl that when she appeared inches before her face she almost gasped out in shock. "I can't believe you are here Pansy and you are alright." Astoria stared at the other girl before her hands started shaking. She soon became a quivering wreck, muttering endlessly to herself so fast that Pansy could not understand a single word she was saying. Even Madam Malkin and the dress fitter didn't disclose the fact they were listening in with all their might, both wondering what had happened to the girl. Astoria's hands found the sides of Pansy's face as though she was examining her but instead she started to hurt the girl, still not letting go. "Astoria! Astoria pull yourself together," the authoritative girl inside Pansy started to come out, "pull yourself together and let go of me. _Now!" _Still the girl shook away, beads of sweat forming on her forehead, eyes unable to focus on anything in particular. Madam Malkin whispered to her assistant to call a Healer if Astoria didn't recover soon. Pansy repeated her command, including a notion about having to go to the Hospital and eventually the panic attack she was having subsided. 

The blonde took a moment to catch her breath although it came out fast and short rather than long and deep as she intended. "You're... you're..." Pansy thought that Astoria would've collapsed at that moment for she had never seen the girl in such a mess before. In an attempt to comfort her, she took hold of the fragile girl's hands and that seemed to soothe her enough to string a sentence together. "Are you alright Pansy?"

This was a ridiculous question considering what just happened, but Pansy replied normally all the same. "Yes Astoria. I'm perfectly fine." She gave a shrug of her shoulders to the two others in the shop. "What's the matter with you though?"

Now Astoria began to weep. It was no full on crying episode but a few tears forced themselves out of her eyes, staining her perfectly made up cheeks as they went down her face. "Pansy," she took a final exhale of breath, "we thought you were dead." She left it a while to let the information absorb. Noticing the complete blank expression on Pansy's face, Astoria had to elaborate. "After the War ended, Draco," Pansy tried not to scowl at her referring to him so casually, "received an owl explaining in detail how you had died in order to rescue him during the battle. It included a picture that I've seen." Astoria couldn't help but shed tears again, obviously remembering how gruesome the image was. "You were lying helplessly among some rubble with blood all over your face." Pansy would've been thankful that the people in the shop went back to work if she wasn't so indulged in the conversation, both hands covering her mouth as she tried not to scream.

Although Pansy desperately wished she was joking, Astoria wasn't. She hadn't finished the tale, either. "Apparently after a few days he was sent a copy of the Daily Prophet with an obituary of yours in it. His mother investigated and found no evidence that you still existed, so he believed it. He started courting me a few weeks ago because his parents wanted him to move on from you."

Now both girls cried in the middle of the shop, completely oblivious to the new people surrounding them or the public setting. Everything made sense to Pansy now. She knew why he hadn't made contact with him in all this time. She had been moving on with her own life, jealous of Astoria and angry with him, when he had gone through unnecessary hell for no reason. Pansy's mouth and brain weren't co-operating, she still couldn't speak.

"You didn't plant it, did you? The letter and the story?" Astoria didn't know the other girl too well, she didn't know whether she was happy with him or wanted to escape. A furious headshake was the only response she got. "Right, of course not" said Astoria with a furrowed brow. "It's not that I'm accusing you of anything, but clearly somebody did this to hurt the both of you." Now that Astoria had her reasonable head on, Pansy should've contributed to the conversation in a sensible manner but she didn't quite know how.

"I have to go, I have to go, I'm sorry." Pansy had plucked up the courage to reply to her. She needed to go and see Draco and tell him she was alive and never let him go. But she was stood in front of his current girlfriend, a girl that had done no wrong, a girl potentially more right for him than she ever was. "No matter what happens, Astoria, he needs to know the truth." She was referring to whether whom he would chose once the options were set out on the table. Instead of getting violent or upset (both would've been completely acceptable in Pansy's eyes), the blonde extended her arms and embraced the smaller girl for a while. She let her go long enough for Pansy to disapparate.

She re-appeared outside of the gates of Malfoy Manor. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she pushed open the iron clad gates, not in her right mind enough to notice that the security gates had been left open in the first place. She darted up the path towards the door, wondering what to do then. Should she knock? No, someone other than Draco could answer and that would confuse the situation even more. She spotted an open window around the corner on the bottom floor and managed to pull it open just enough to climb through. Landing in the dining room, she barely had time to gawp at the extensiveness of it all because she scrambled across the floor and into the main hallway, not wanting to stay in one place for too long in case she was caught.

With some knowledge remaining of different locations in the house, Pansy managed to navigate herself to the staircase. She ran up as fast as she possibly could without looking back for a second. But once she reached the top she didn't quite know where to go next. Not only were the corridors in Malfoy Manor never ending, none of the closed doors gave any indication they were the one she was looking for. Whenever she went to the Manor they would stay in one of the entertaining rooms downstairs, or they'd go outside if the weather was nice. She hid in an alcove for a minute, narrowly missing a house elf walking past on their duties. She turned another corner, practically turning a full circle, when she noticed light spilling out from a door slightly ajar. Gulping, she strode towards the door and slowly opened it.

Inside was the boy she'd been looking for, sat at a dark wooden desk with his back to her. She didn't speak for a while because she was at a loss of what to say, but she had always wondered what the inside of Draco Malfoy bedroom looked like. It was exactly as she could've imagined. A large four poster bed dominated the west wall of the room, the bedding slytherin colours. She continued to look around not knowing that he saw her in a small mirror on his desk. Pansy turned to stone in the doorway when he stood and turned towards her.

He was a little dishevelled, the buttons on his shirt done up the wrong way at the bottom, his hair unusually untamed. Dark circles were visible under his heavy eyes. Pansy wondered when the last time he slept was. "Hi." She didn't want to cry but her voice immediately fell weak as soon as she spoke. Very slowly he started to walk towards her, obviously cautious. "Draco, look," She didn't have time to explain the horrific situation. He caught her by the wrists and slammed her against the side of the wall. Nails dug into her skin, her head began to hurt from the force of the wall colliding with her. He stared at her face without blinking, barely breathing, and not letting go. "Draco you are _hurting _me," she pleaded, knowing too well that she didn't quite have the energy to push him away, nor did she want to. Sure, he was out of his mind and causing her pain, but she hadn't been so close in over a year. She could smell his signature natural scent and began melting into him again before he lifted her from the wall only to slam her back into it again. "Draco!" If she had her arms free, she would've slapped him in the face.

"Pansy Parkinson is dead" hissed a clearly demented Draco. "Whoever you are, show yourself now so I can kill you for playing such a cruel trick." Empty space filled his eyes, showing no remorse. He took a hand away from her wrist to retrieve the wand from his pocket, long enough for her to place said hand on his check in an attempt for him to look at her. He slapped her hand away and fully let go, not watching her sink down to the floor in despair. Pansy was tired but wasn't ready to give up on him.

He marched over to the bedside cabinet (Pansy noted it matched the rest of his furniture and almost smiled) and took out something from it. He came back down to Pansy and threw the pieces at her. They were crumpled, tear stained and frayed, but she recognised them to be the picture Astoria had described, the letter and the fake newspaper article. "Tell me those aren't real then," he spat in fury, leaning back against the frame of his bed as she read over, not leaving clear any precise detail. "If you are Pansy, explain those to me then." He truly struck a nerve there because she couldn't. She didn't understand what had happened, who it was that took that picture and went through all that effort.

She discarded them to her left and rose to her feet again, walking over to him leaving no distance in between so that he couldn't escape. She refused to let him stare at the floor by holding onto both sides of his face. "Draco listen to me please. I didn't die, I don't know who made up that article and took that picture. I did come looking for you during the Battle. Some stranger, the one who took the picture, brought me home and I don't know who that was. I waited for you to come for me like you promised but obviously you were grieving instead. Only today did I run into Astoria and she told me the truth." He started to pull away from her in disbelief and she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck in her own desperation for him to know. "It's me, it's me I promise."

She racked her brain to try and find a way to prove to him that it was her. Then a thought came to mind, one thing that nobody else in the world knew, and she said it no matter how embarrassed it would make her. "Fifth year, we were abusing prefect duties by not actually doing them and decided to take a bath together in the prefect bathroom. I showed up in my bathing suit and you assumed that we, eh, _weren't _wearing bathing suits." The stern expression on her face never faltered no matter how amusing reliving that situation was for her. Now he had all the evidence in front of him that she was fine and alive.

"P-Pansy..." he stuttered and amid all the confusion swirling through his brain, he knew what he had to do. She nodded in response, giving him the smallest of smiles. He returned this smile with something a lot better. Wrapping his arms tightly around her waist, he crashed his lips onto hers with a hungry passion that told her he never wished to let her go again. They fought for control in the haze of their forgotten lust. Her hands found their way to the buttons of his shirt and he moaned into her mouth. Even Pansy had to admit that she didn't want to go too far. She pulled away gently, placing a few kisses on his cheeks, nose and forehead before settling against his face. A faint smirk appeared on his lips, for he still knew how he managed to make the butterflies in her stomach somersault. The smirk disappeared quickly enough. "When I find out who did this to you, to us, I swear," he clenched his fists and to stop him from getting angry she ran her thumb over his lips.

She perched her hands on his shoulders so that she could reach up and look straight into his eyes. "We'll sort it out, I promise. I'm sure there's some sort of magic that detects traces, fingerprints and things like that."

He seemed annoyed for not coming up with that first. "Hmm, you would be the one with the smart answer, Pansy" said Draco sarcastically with a quick eye roll.

She chuckled a little with amusement. "You must be feeling better my love, you are already making remarks." They shared a smile, hearts mending a little. Guilt came back to Pansy, though. She saw only a snippet of pain from him and knew that it wouldn't have been the worst of it. If she swallowed her pride and arrived a while back, they'd have been fine. Heck, they'd probably have been planning a wedding. "I should've come sooner," admitted Pansy. "I could've saved you all this trouble. I was playing the damsel in distress when you needed me most." He wrapped his arms around the petite girl, kissing the top of her head in a protective sort of way that required no further explanation. Well, anyone other than Pansy would've been satisfied with that. "You can be angry with me for being such a traditionalist. I ruined everything."

He sighed, knowing that she wouldn't give it up. "Pans, you are impossible." He meant it as a compliment, which was good, for she took it as one. "There's only one person to blame for this and it certainly isn't you." He had a little wait until my father hears about this moment inside his head, and then had a better thought. "Although," he stuck out his bottom lip and sighed a little, "I do feel a little bad, still. You'll have to make it up to me."

She punched him in the shoulder then tilted her head up to kiss him. She kissed him again and again and again. They were utterly clueless as to what had happened and what was yet to come. All they knew was that they had each other again, so all other problems felt very, very small.


End file.
